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Trump lavishly welcomes Xi Jinping in the U.S.… Moscow's envoy is heading to U.S… A Taiwanese company is looking to buy into Ukraine's cement business…
Editor’s note:
Yesterday, during one of the massive Russian attacks on Kyiv, the internet went down at the Controffensive office. We tried to contact the provider, but no one answered. Later, the Ministry of Digital Transformation said that about 100,000 households are experiencing the same outage.
Nevertheless, we keep digging into the state of democracy not only in Ukraine but also in our monthly Taiwanese issue.
The best way to support us is to subscribe, so our reporting doesn’t stop when the power or the internet does.
OUR LEAD STORY:
TAIPEI, Taiwan – For the U.S. and China, Taiwan could be the last puzzle piece to decide who wins the tech war. As AI takes off, Taiwan’s tech industry — which produces more than 90 percent of the most advanced semiconductors used in AI servers around the world — finds itself in the middle of a contest between two global powers.
But there is a trick: while Washington deepens its cooperation with Taiwan and uses the islands as leverage against Beijing, the nation’s economy remains deeply intertwined with China and its tech companies often rely on Chinese markets, suppliers, and business partners, which could make Trump’s administration hesitate with its support. Now, Taiwan is put in a difficult position. The country is divided in choosing who to economically align with.
This August, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau examined about 60 cases in which Chinese companies allegedly changed the label on products from “made in China” to “made in Taiwan.” This helps Chinese companies import advanced AI chips or export Chinese products to the U.S. to avoid tariffs.
These label-laundering cases are seriously sabotaging U.S. trust in Taiwan. It could not only put the relationship between the two countries at risk, but also damage trust in Taiwanese manufacturing labels.
While facing an increasingly likely attack from China, the Taiwanese government is building a “silicon shield,” connecting Taiwanese tech companies with the global economy. It made a commitment to help the U.S. to strengthen its AI boom.
After the paywall:
Why a chip insider says the AI shortage outweighs the scandal;
How Unimicron explains its Hubei-made products;
The Nvidia manager detained over chip smuggling to China;
Why Taiwan’s tech industry doesn’t trust Trump.
